Sturmin

It was mentioned in another post, from Amsterdam to Basel you move with the weather. From Basel to Amsterdam you move through it.

Thank you for the review. We did this itinerary(except in reverse) last Thanksgiving with the kids. It was our second son's senior year and for a family vacation he voted for a cruise. We like this itinerary for all the beaches and no needed excursions(expensive enough with air and cruise during the holiday time frame.)

Hello.....We have booked a trip for August 2019. We are considering the Pre Paris stay thru Viking. The cost at this time is $1600, I believe about $1000 is for the hotel. That leaves $600 for the transportation to and from, and to the ship, plus a walking tour. I am wondering if I can't do this much cheaper thru my TA. The Pullman Paris Eiffel Tower Hotel is not centrally located. My husband has some walking issues so was hoping to be closer to an area more like a "neighborhood" with shops, restaurants, etc. We do want to see some of the main venues, but plan on taking the bus or metro....or cabs. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you....we are very excited. I was in Paris 2002 and made my own reservations with no issues.

If you're using Viking Air, don't forget about the Air Deviation fee of a $100 per person to fly in early and/or leave later.

Thank you for taking the time and effort to do this review. We almost did this cruise last year, but found great deal on Viking, Empires of Mediterranean (Athens to Venice.) Interesting to see what we missed.

Now onto the Douro in just over a week.

The weather has been great. Cool, but sunny. Lows in the morning have been in the mid 40s with temps rising to the mid 60s by afternoon. The only rain we’ve had was on our first day in Lisbon and that was intermittent.

Thank you for the info. When you have time, what is the highlight or must do of the trip and what was the low or the one thing to skip. Enjoy your trip. I can't believe how quick the days go by when on a wonderful getaway.

You can easily travel on Viking for 6K budget. Vantage may be another cruise line to check. We did the Rhine Getaway in mid-November and had a wonderful time. Weather for us was upper 50's to lower 60's daytime and lower 50's for lows. We did have mist and drizzle off and on but it just added to the fairy tale scenery. Here is a link to an excellent review of a Rhine Getaway cruise(not mine.)

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2085470

Viking includes everything when you book the air with them except tips, travel ins(cheaper to buy on your own), optional excursions(every stop has an included excursion) and alcohol between meals. We just bought bottles of wine when touring the cities to drink later. Any questions please ask. If you know anyone, neighbor or family who has cruised there are referral credits available(Must know the people referring, don't ask for them here, you get in trouble:rolleyes:.)

Thank you for taking the time to post. How is your weather?

Thanks Jamman for doing another review. Your reviews always help the days go by while waiting for the next cruise. We are booked over Thanksgiving with the kids for their first cruise on the Conquest for E Caribbean. I'm a little disappointed you haven't reviewed the Conquest yet;) . (Just joking, appreciate the hard work goes into each one. If I ever see on ship I'll have to buy you beer as way of thanks.)

Thank you for the review. We are just over 50 days from our Douro cruise. No time for Madrid but it sounds wonderful.

Hey Kim! As a fellow reviewer I am also running into the space problem. Maybe we can petition the mods for some more signature space? In any event, maybe starting a blog is the way to go, (which I don't have time to do), and if not, start eliminating links to older reviews. You can still keep a list of them, and offer them when the need arises. :cool:

Maybe you could start a new thread with links to each of your reviews and then just post a link in your signature to the new thread with your reviews. Just an idea.

Thank you for doing this review(saw your comment about it on Trippingaras Carnival review.) We've been interested in a Paul Gauguin cruise since I somehow ended up on their mailing list. This year is booked but maybe sometime in the future.

Just a couple of thoughts.

 

On Ehrenbreitstein fortress I do not know what Viking includes, perhaps a commentary and shuttle, but you can do this on your own if you take the cable car there and back. I recommend it for the views

 

notamermaid

On past cruises, you could not do this on your own because the ship moves to Marksburg castle to pick up guests from the included excursion. We left the ship at appx 9:00 and were picked around noon below the castle by the ship. It's been awhile but I think the ship left at 9:30 from Koblenz.

But for the hotel: if Viking is starting the pre-trip from a hotel, you could either book a different hotel for the first night and then taxi over there -- or book yourself into that hotel at retail rates [probably cheaper than the rate through the cruise line] and meet them in the lobby -- and ask Viking to treat you as part of the group.

Cmbath, this is probably correct, I misunderstood about a pre cruise tour. (I was thinking of you staying at the same hotel as a Viking pre cruise tour but separate. Then joining their transfer to the ship. Some people have reported Viking trying to sell them the transfer, but the Viking agent at the hotel willing to let them ride transfer bus for free.) Thank you Jazz for correcting.

I am looking at arriving in Paris, one day before our pre cruise tour to the Loire Valley starts. This would give us a little extra time in Paris.

 

1. If I get Viking to get us there a day earlier, will they still come pick us up?

2. Will we have to go to the same hotel as they use?

3. Will they take us to a hotel that we chose for that night?

 

Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

Cmbath

1) Viking will not pick you up. All transportation is on you, to your hotel and then to the ship.

2) You can go to any hotel you want, but as stated above, you have to get to the hotel and ship on your own.

3) No.

We have used the air deviation in Venice and it worked great. Nice thing about Venice is most everywhere is walkable. The trip to the airport was a bit expensive though.

If it was me, fly in a few days early to make the deviation worth while. For one day it doesn't seem worth it. Have fun and enjoy.

Thank you for doing another review. I've said it before and may say again, Carnival has the best cruise reviewers here. :)

It would depend on how flexible you are. If you have to have a certain cabin with that one cruise line on this date, then book early.

For Viking in particular, last year the best time to book was around the first of the year. They had a few perks around that time. If flexible and cruising off-peak, you can wait and see if additional perks become available like free or discounted air fare or free upgrades to higher class cabins(usually pricing is always the same, just different prices for airfare.) October has become fairly popular with cooler weather and lower pricing so again it comes down to flexibility. River cruising is getting more popular and each year cabins appear to fill up a little earlier. I would sign up with each company you are interested in for brochures that have specials or contact a TA for best pricing. If you sign up, you will not lack for mail.

Great question! I book through Costco, here is what I paid (and what I got back)

 

Allure of the Seas (7 nights, 3 ports) - $7,571.09 - $900 OBC, $100 dining credit

Carnival Dream (7 nights, 3 ports) - $6,265.41 - $400 costco cash card

Thank you for the quick answer. Looks like RCI is appx 10% higher then Carnival in this instance. When we booked our 2015 cruise, Carnival, Holland, Princess and Celebrity were all priced within pennies of each other for a standard balcony. RCI was the only one more expensive at that time(NCL didn't have E Carribean at the correct time so I not sure on them). We went with Princess because of the cabin placement (like being up top and near front of the ship) and Carnival shareholder OBC and to try a different company. First loyalty is to my wallet with an eye towards value. Hopefully someday we can cruise on RCI and the other lines as well.

Just curious, what is the price difference between a suite on carnival verses one on RCI?

PS. Thank you for taking time to do your review.

While I do prefer longer days, I consider cool weather much more desirable than hot weather. I can dress for comfort at freezing or even in snow, but IMO the is no appropriate clothing for walking in 35°C weather.☺ A Christmas cruise should definitely be considered by OP.

Totally agree with you. I prefer mid 50'sF(10C?). I have a nice light jacket with a deep inside pocket for my wallet. It's a pain in the rear to get it out but there no way anyone can pickpocket me:).

Have you looked at the Christmas market cruises. The markets themselves maybe crowded, but the other areas will be quiet. I don't like the crowds myself and usually like the November time frame. I know this won't work for a teacher, but Christmas holidays may. Only down side is shorter days and cool weather. Upside is much less expensive and less crowds.

I believe you can also use the certificates on Viking Ocean as well. DW and I were very impressed with them blending their service and ocean cruising. Just something for you to ponder.

We took this cruise early Dec '16 and had a wonderful time. We went from Ath to Venice and then spent two days in Venice one our own(or was suppose to, fog in the port did not allow the ship in and were bused from Trier. Did not arrive until about 9:00PM instead of early AM.)

Highlight of our trip was Kotor, the great weather and no crowds. Minor negative was no sea days to enjoy the beautiful ship. Any questions just ask.

Thanks for the review. We have a few more days to wait for our cruise.

We did Empires of the Mediterranean last December, Athens to Venice. I have not sailed Celebrity, but believe you will enjoy Viking much more. Fewer people on the ship(960 max), no children and excellent service. I also appreciate no nickel and diming. Only problem with Viking can be some of their customer service here in the US. Some are good, some not so much. If you have any questions I can try and answer them.

Thank you for doing another review.